Stormy Skies above Sapphire Seas
by orange-and-apple
Summary: Orphaned and alone, a six year old Sonic wanders into a slum infested with filth, only to meet the best friend of his life. OC included; don't like, don't read
1. Beginning of the End

**Well, here's the opening; we didn't find anything too bad here, so it's pretty much the same :p**

**Disclaimer: Sonic and his peeps (although they should be owned by Nintendo, IMO) are owned by SEGA and the Sonic Team...so no lawsuits, ok?**

**--**

A small hedgehog girl stared out the window of her work station, stormy blue eyes focused at the city outside, before turning back to her so-called job. Children her age had to work in large factories, assembling robots which supplied the bastard army. Yet it was the best place in the entire 'city': a horrible, rag-tag excuse ofr a town, horribly overpopulated, with suprisingly many natural rescources, but with no police system; it was every bum, crack whore, and orphan for themselves. That made it so easy for Dr. Ivo Robotnik (in her opinion, Dr. Eggman was better) to take over the city, and enslave its people...unless they risk 'dissapearing'. The girl shook her head, looking down at the injuries on her battered arms, then thought outloud, words hiden underneath the thunderous noise of the machines, "What I'd give for someone to help us."

At that moment, a small hedgehog boy with blue spines and emerald eyes was running through the city, lost and confused. His home and city was destroyed in a robotic raid, leaving him stranded and alone. Sighing in defeat, he leaned against a crumbling, badly damaged wall, eyes downcast. Suddenly, the rusting clock tower that rose above the fortified city rang 6:10, and a stampede of panicking townspeople rushed out of the many generic office buildings that lined the streets. The boy, even more confused, tried to escape, but was shoved to the ground by a portly man, and landed on the factory worker, the storm above the sapphie sea snapping in shock. She pulled him into an alley, devoid of frenzied people, and asked, "Who are you? And why did you randomly assault me?"

Little did she know that her 'assaulter' would answer her request...


	2. Spinball

**once again, we don't own jack-sht. so, no lawsuits, ok?**

--

Sonic stared at the girl he stumbled on with dazed eyes. She was an orange hedgehog, with orange spines falling to her mid-back, a small tuff of orange hair, and stormy deep blue eyes. The girl wore a light green blouse with a yellow pleated skirt, emerald shoes, and yellow laces. "Wait, let me rephrase; what's your name?"

"I'm Sonic." Sonic grinned, rubbing his head.

"Well, my name's Velocity, Sonic." She smiled at her, then placed a gloved hand on her hip. "What'cha doing out here all lost and dizzy-like?"

"I was going through town lost, when all of a sudden, a huge crowd of people came screaming out of nowhere at 6:10." Sonic glanced at the large clock; 6:13. "After almost getting trampled, I was shoved out of the way by some fat guy, and bumped into you."

Velocity snickered, then shook her head. "Ah, I see. Well, my blue friend, you're lost in the worst part of the worst city in the entire world. So, with that...FOLLOW ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE."

Sonic cracked up, then let the orange girl drag him down the alley-way into a maze of twisting and winding passgeways formed between crumbling tenement walls. The sun had comepletely set by the two stopped infront of a large manhole overing, the boy asking, "Where are we?"

"The way to the biggest joyride of your life." Velocity flashed a toothy smiled, then lifted up with covering, revealing a very steep slide. "You afraid of small spaces?"

"Nope."

"Good; you'll have to comfort me when I start screaming." Velocity suddenly jumped down the slide, and as was promised, her yells echoed up to Sonic. Giggling, he jumped in after her, yelling too, but in delight. Dark shades of green and purple flashed before his eyes, the small form of Velocity far ahead. After an eternity of speed-enduced euphoria, they landed in a shallow pool of cold water, snapping the children back to their senses. Sonic yelped, then stood up, shuddering, "Y-You didn't warn m-me about that!"

"You're afraid of water?" Velocity cocked her head, straightening her headband. When Sonic turned away, she smiled, shaking her head. "Figures."

"...Anyways, where are we?" Sonic looked around the tunnel he and his new friend were in. They were standing on metal pipes suspended over more water, balanced by moss-covered rocks. More pipes, all covered in the same blueish-green gunk formed a ceiling, boulders being walls. Infront of them was a space with a brown-colored pod, the noises of the pipes forming a musical beat.

Velocity smirked, then asked coyly, "You've ever played a pinball machine?"

"Yeah..."

"Here, you're the ball; as you're running, crouch down and hope for the best!" With that, she jumped into the pod, which launched her up into another level,a nd out of Sonic's sight. Not willing to be left behind, he ran towards the pod with his back bent, and automatically curcled into a spike-covered ball, the air around him whipping by. Suddenly, he found himself in what appeared to be a GIANT pinball machine, Velocity richoceting off of mechanical worms. Grinning, he joined the orange furry, destroying the mechas in a puff of smoke. The girl flipped in the air, and yelled, "DRAIN THE SLIME!!"

Without thinking, he homed onto a glowing red orb, and the giant container that stuck out in the middle of the room drained itself of the green sewage, the slime traveling through a pipe and out of sight. Velocity bounced off of a pair of large flippers through a tube leading to an adjacent room, and a few monets later the noise of a lever beingpulled echoed through the room, mixing in with the rythmatic beat of the machine. Sonic warped suddenly into a different room, landing on a cart. Leaning to a side, he soon expirenced the rollercoaster ride of his life, shooting up through a tube and finding himself lunging for a large key **(A/N: no Emeralds here, sorry) **floating in the space. Grabbing onto it, he fell down into the lower level, then raced back up into another brown pod; this place was growing on him.

--

Velocity shot through the air, avoiding a mechanical bird and worms to get to a certain key in the large container. Unfortunately, she fell through the air; not enough momentum to propel herself. Landing on a cart, she leaned to the left, and in a matter of moments, had a large key in her gloved hands. Launched back into the higher level room, she used the flipper's erradic movements to launch herself to the area she couldn't get to: a platform with one of the infamous levers. Pulling down on it, she rolled through a tube, wind rippling through her spines and skirt...then fell down...into the final key. Yelling out in triumph, she bounched back into the air, meeting Sonic face-to-face. "I see you've got the hang of it, Sonic."

"Tell me about it." They shared a high five, then the orange hedgehog led the blue through a newly opened wormhole to a wide opening, where a large metal door with 3 locks stood waiting. "Oh...that's why we needed the keys."

The girl straightened her shirt and skirt, giggling. "That was fun; you got the other key?"

"Yep!" He handed her the bright blue instrument, grinning, "We gotta do this again sometime, 'City."

She blushed slightly at the nickname, then smiled, placing the three keys in the locks. They automatically turned, and the heavy metal doors slid apart, revealing a long corridor leadning to a small colony of some of the cutest life-forms on the planet: Chao. They looked atr the newcomers, then cheered in their native language, boucning in the air. Sonic blinked, then asked, "What's this?"

Velocity shrugged, rubbing her ear. "I've collected these guys over the years, and they live with me; is this a problem?"

He shook his head, smiling, "No way!" With that, he raced towards them, the thrashing winds blowing the Chao into the air, to their delight. Velocity joined him, cheeks flushed in the slightest hint of red.

--

Sonic and Velocity were lying against the wall, the Chao sleeping quietly in their colony. Time was for the birds; they didn't have anything to go to sleep early for. The blue boy yawned, then asked, "So...why do you live here?"

She sighed, then tugged on a spine. "Actually, compared to the orphans in this town, I'm well off."

Ignoring the shocked and sympathetic expression on his face, she continued, "My mom and dad...they didn't like each other very much. And one day, when I was about 3, they got in a fight, and my mom left. My dad took me here, then started bringing me a bunch of Chao, teaching me how to survive on my own. Then...he left too. But for a while, it was ok; the Chao kept me company, and I ran errands for food. But then...Robotnik-"

"Say no more." He held up his hand, emerald eyes heavily lidded. "I grew up alone too, and the giant Egg blew up my town. I'm guessing that he had to do with why I don't know my parents..."

"What?" She cocked her head, confused. "You came from another place?"

"Yeah..why?"

She blushed, shrugging. "I mean, I lived all of my six years in this place...I didn't know that there was an outside world. Kinda stupid, huh?"

"Not really." Sonic smiled, then yawned, streching his legs. She yawned back, bginning the notorious wave of yawns that both amused and annyoed the two hedgehogs. Sonic, done trying to resist, curled up in a ball, letting sleep overtake him. Velocity stared at him for a moment, at peace. _"My first real friend..."_

The gentle but overpowering embrace of sleep soon took her toll.

--

**apple: i liked how this turned out...except for the end ..**

**orange: why?**

**apple: too much for one chapter -- other than that, i think that we did a good job **

**References**

**Sonic Spinball (duh)**


	3. Fellow Slaves

**i don't own sonic :p**

--

Sonic and Velocity were walking through the somewhat crowded streets, huddling close to each other for warmth. They were heading for the factory at which the orange hedgehog worked, trying to get there before the dark clouds above gave out acid rain. Apparently, it had rained the night before, seeing that the two kept splashing in puddles. Sonic shuddered as the cold water seeped in through his shoes, catching Velocity's attention. "Ah, so we're back to this discussion."

"What?" He turned away, shivering from the biting cold.

"Back in the sewers, you seemed kinda freaked out when we hit the water..." She cocked her head, the storm above sapphire seas making contact with the emerald forest.

"I-I was just cold." He corssed his arms, cheeks reddening despite his defiant stand.

She raised her eye-ridges...a few moments of semi-silence later, he caved. "Ok, ok...if you need to know so badly, I was caught in a flood a few years back."

Sonic stopped, staring at the foreboding layer of black clouds. "It was my earliest memory; unlike you, I can only remember up to age 4...

--

_A four year old Sonic was racing through tangled vines and branches, tears streaming down his cheeks. The distant roar of a dangerous force mixed in with the pounding of his head, further accelerating the adrenaline in his veins. His feet throbbed, chest ached, and mouth was bone-dry, but he dare not stop; the trials of blisters and pains were far more forgiving than a moving wall of death. But his feet gave out, and as he hit the ground, the distant noise became a gyrating rage of a thousand gallons of water. For the split second before it overcame him, Sonic swore that his heart stopped. Suddenly, he rushed forward with the waves, tumbling through hundred of liquid knives. It seemed to go on forever, but the worst part was that the surface was no more than 6 inches away. He tried to swim, his arms and legs feebly puling away from his path along the flood..._

_--_

"...and that's when I found out that I couldn't swim."

Velocity widened her blue eyes, her hand on his quivering shoulder for support. He shuddered, then sighed. "Luckly, the flood emptied out into a river, and I managed to float into the shore before I turned-"

"Blue?" She shrugged shamelessly, then motioned for him to continue.

"_Anyways_, I pulled myself out, and joined the next town I could find. 2 and a half years later, it went boom."

Sonic rolled his shoulders, trying to force the unpleasant memory from his young mind. They walked on his silence for an eternity, until the warm smell of freshly made rolls floated from an open window. On cue, their stomachs grumbled in unison, and Sonic uttered, "Time to eat."

Velocity's blue eyes darted about, making sure that no goody-goody was around. When she was certain that all of the trash around her was indeed trash, she jumped in through the window, Sonic shuddering in a sudden wind. A few seconds later, accented with a loud crashing noise, she came back out, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to gain warmth.

Walking as fast as poissible without freezing to death, the two huddled away, the rolls warming their grumbling stomachs. A crack of thunder burst the sky, lightning illuminating a building far newer than the crumbling ruins around it. The blue-eyed girl sighed, then shuddered, lips turning purple. Sonic led her to the heavy doors, pounding on the steel walls. Opening with a click, they parted, revealing a keypad. Velocity quickly typed in a string of numbers, which activated another pair of steel doors. They opened with a creak, releasing a gust of hot air that thawed their six-year old bodies. A small sheep, no older than 2, peeked his head out, whimepring, "C-Come on, i-it's cold out!"

Sonic's emerald eyes widened in awe at the sight before him. There were at least 7 conveyor belts, leading in and out of the blank gray walls, covered in machine parts. Velocity sneezed, then motioned for him to follow her, weaving in and under the conveyors. At the far end of the room stood 3 girls Sonic and Velocity's age, systematically assembling robots. One of them, a gray panda with kind brown eyes, looked up, smiling, "Hi, Velocity...who's your friend?"

"Hey Nicole; this is my new best friend, Sonic. Sonic, these are my fellow slaves."

Sonic waved at the girls, taking in their appearances. Aside from Nicole, there was a green raccoon with lively blue eyes and a white cat with curious pink orbs, both focused on their work. The white cat looked up, then cocked her head. "Newbie?"

"Friend, Fumie, friend." Velocity sighed, then turned towards Sonic. "Fumie, Carly, and Nicole are my work-buddies. Unfortunately, they're kinda stupid."

Carly gasped, then shook her fist, voice thick with an Australian accent. "Oy, that's enough outta you, sheila! Why, here I is tryin' to assemble these here robot-thingies, and you're goin' on callin' me dumb?"

Sonic snickered, trying to hold it in. Caving in, his laughter ringing out to the jerking, thumping racket of the conveyor belts, Velocity smirking. "She talk funny."

"She always talk funny, Sonic; she's not from here." Fumie shrugged, pushing a level forwards. "She's from the East Side."

_--_

The five stood silently alongside the conveyor belt, each either screwing in dozens of tiny bolts hastily into the half-assembled robots, or forcing large levers to pull the belt along. That, combined with the hot, stuffy air, heavy resistance straining their arm muscles, and the occasional (and painful) knocks against the limbs from the machinery made the expirence nearly unbearable. On the plus side, Sonic was amazed to hear a long bell ring out over their heads, indicating a well-deserved break. Fumie whooped along with the cheering crowd, then raced out to a pair of large green doors, yelling, "Open the doors!!"

She pressed her ear against the door, wide eyes growing wider. Grinning war to ear, she stepped back, arms folded across her chest. With that, the doors burst open, revealing a horde of dust-covered kids with wide grins on their faces. The two groups merged, conversations springing up out of nowhere. Sonic tilted his head, then asked, "Who are they?"

"They work in the coal mines below here." Velocity explained, streching out her tired arms. "Fumie is best friends with two peoples named Jun and Takeshi from the mines, and she's the guy who tells the guard on the other side to open the doors."

The hedgehog nodded, then cocked his head, ears twitching. What could only be described as a tune from a 16-bit game was playing in a corner of the room, the source surrounded by a crowd of underage minors. Pushing their way to the front, the duo stopped and began bobbing their heads to the beat: Fumie, Jun (a brown porcupine with chocolate brown eyes) and Takeshi (a green dingo with cheerful blue eyes) were playing instruments, expertly playing out a song on their toy guitars and drum set. The song, cheerful and vibrant, rose many of the worn-out Mobians to their feet, distracting them from their fairly pathetic situation. Sonic grinned remarking, "These peoples are pretty good."

Velocity nodded, swaying her body to the synthetic beat. As the storm raged outside, the children were in a state of bliss, troubles forced out of their minds.

Until Dr. Eggman walked in.

--

**orange: i blame school**

**apple: i blame homework**

**orange: but we're sorry for a really long delay, non-existant viewers :3**

**apple: by the way, kudos to our beta qwerty of youtubve for editing this :D**

**References**

**If you didn't notice, the names Fumie, Jun, and Takeshi (the kids playing instruments) are names from the music artists working in Sonic Team.**


	4. Author's Note

**apple: hi, people**

**orange: the reason we haven't been updating is because it seems as if every relative from the four corners of the earth want to kidnap us -.-**

**apple: the reason for this little A/N is to inform you of that, and for some changes:**

**-The fate of Velocity's parents was changed...again; we can't make up our minds -.-**

**-We made minor changes to the plot, to make it less...what's the word? Mary Sue-ish? (we failed, unfortuantely XD)**

**-And for the sake of continuity, Dr. Eggman WILL be called that in later chapters...if we ever update -.-**

**apple: and that's the end of that **


End file.
